Persona: Burst
by h3AdS1aMM3r
Summary: The cries of death have finally ceased, and the seal is no longer needed. However, as one boy descends back to the world, his world, all is not as he remembered anymore. "What happened to this world, what happened to my world?"
1. Chapter 1

Summary: The cries of death have finally ceased, and the seal is no longer needed. However, as one boy descends back to the world, his world, all is not as he remembered anymore. "What happened to this world, what happened to my world?"

Chapter 1: The Beginning

There are many kinds of people in this world.

Those that are strong to survive the harsh world on their own, those that make an impact on the lives of others and as well as themselves, those who would make a difference in the lives of others…

Those who had the potential to change the world.

I have seen, interacted, and come to known many of the people in this world. People of all kinds…well, that itself may be an overstatement, since I never really left my country in the first place. However, it was through one place which I found myself, found what I really needed to do and found what it truly means to save others.

Sacrificing myself was all part of the deal, not that I'm complaining.

There are those who wish for death, those who wish to end their torment through eternal sleep. I have seen such things as well. Those who feel that their life has no meaning, those who see everything as an inevitable doom.

When you hang on this seal for God knows how long, you're sure to see the interesting stuff. As I said, all kinds of people and all sorts of attitudes toward life.

However, something had not been right as of recently.

Erebus has been getting quieter and less pushy these few days (if days could even COUNT, then I guess it would be). Occasionally, he still bangs against the door from time to time, but even that wasn't so frequent anymore.

Something was off.

Since Erebus was an incarnation of people wishing for death, there must still be people who are. Not that I want them to, but it was only human of people to feel some doom and despair now and then. As I said, however…

Erebus now…seemed to have stopped totally.

There was no frequent banging against the seal anymore. The damage marks on my body inflicted by the beast was slowly becoming less and less, almost to the point where my previous wounds could close up and HEAL themselves.

If the seal could make an expression, it would certainly be that of a scrunched up face and with one hand rubbing my chin (as what Junpei always did, but I never really cared). Have humans stopped wishing for death to come? Have humans finally seen that death is not always the answer, which means…have they finally come to a resolve?

I know that the Investigation Team had played a great part in this during those events.

Then…if that was the case, shouldn't I be free from this seal, free from this would be eternal torment I sacrificed myself to be?

Shouldn't I myself have the right to live again.

…

No…it cannot be. Humans will always sin, humans are not perfect, there is no way that I would be released from my position, tough as hanging here may be. Yes, I will continue to stay here, Erebus fighting back or not, for the sake of humanity…

*KASHACK*

Huh!

The…chains of the seal…are coming loose? I felt each chain tied around my hands and my legs slowly start to unbind themselves, as if hearing my previous pleads and cries.

Could this be it? Could I finally be free from all burden that hangs me to this thing?

"Master…"

…

Oh no…I know that voice all too well.

As if the area around me could not get any brighter, a small, white light discharged from nowhere as the last of my chains unshackled itself…

* * *

><p><strong>Velvet Room<strong>

"Nngh…"

I let out a small grunt as the light finally died down. Now ringing through my ears was seemingly some sort of light opera music. The area around me was nothing more than a simple room, with masks hanging of the walls and dusty looking portraits of people on it. A deep shade of velvet enveloped the room…

No…a deep shade of…velvet…?

"Welcome to the Velvet room," the familiar, creepy old voice said, "or I should say, welcome back to the velvet room, my dear guest."

Was that really…no it couldn't be. This must be a vision out of my own imagination!

"Remember, this place is between dream and reality, mind and matter. It can appear anywhere, but please, do look straight. Why have a proper body and then waste it?"

Proper…body.

I moved my fingers…and they moved along with how I wanted them to act. I craned my neck to look straight.

He was right, a physical body. I am no longer at the seal.

"My boy, it has been awhile."

The figure seated behind the table was a man with deathly pale skin and hair, his nose could have been the length of two long rulers. He had his hands on a cane, his chin resting above them.

"Igor…!" I blurted out on instinct. I touched my lips with trembling hands…

I could speak…

"As I have mentioned, a very warm welcome back to the velvet room," his smile grew even wider, "it has been awhile since we last had a chat like this."

"Awhile is an overstatement, Igor."

"So it seems," the chuckled lightly, "however, as you may have noticed, the circumstances around seemed to have drastically changed."

Circumstances?

I looked around the room, only to find one person missing, "Does Elizabeth have something to do with this?"

"I can assure you she does not. There is even a possibility that she knows not you are here right now."

I remember Elizabeth finding her way to my seal, but that was only once. She had sworn to "free me from my burden", but she never once came back after that. If Elizabeth had nothing to do with this, then what in the world could…

"You are curious as to why you are here, are you not?" Igor's smile lessened, even if ever so slightly, "why have you been freed from the seal, why has the manifestation of death stopped attacking the seal."

What a mind reader…

"Sadly, no details can be revealed to you as of this point. But there is one thing you can do for us here in the velvet room."

"And what might that be?"

As Igor snapped his fingers, a small puff of smoke caused some sort of scroll to appear on the table. As it started to roll itself out, a pen in its holder appeared by the side.

"This is…!"

"A contract, my guest," Igor continued, "it is not something you are unfamiliar with by now."

Yes…

_I chooseth this fate of my own free will._

The familiar words rang through my head. The only difference was the signature.

There wasn't any.

"A new contract marks the start of a new journey," Igor chuckled again, "it is up to you."

No…another journey? Does this mean I have to go on another life of battle and fighting again? Do I really want to put myself in danger again, for the sake of finding out what was going on?

"I…"

Grabbing the pen by the side, the familiar feeling of wanting and curiosity entered me.

"Minato Arisato…"

I wrote down my name in full.

"Chooseth this fate of my own free will, and accept whatever consequences there are for my actions I choose."

As if on voice command, the paper rolled itself up and vanished as soon as I finished writing it.

"Very good, child," Igor nodded, "then there is nothing more of importance I wish to say here. Go forth, and fulfil your journey."

"And remember, visit us when you need our help…"

No…Igor, wait!

* * *

><p>My body feels limp as the velvet room faded away from me. I soon find myself being transported elsewhere…<p>

*thump*

The feeling of my head knocking back against something wakes me up instantly. Eyes still closed, I cracked my neck for moment.

"Where am I now…?"

It seems that this truly is the real world, and that I seem to be in some sort of empty room.

Leaning myself against the wall for support, I forced myself to walk. Hah, suddenly, even walking feels foreign to me, like a new born baby even. Being chained to a stupid door has dozens of disadvantages so it would seem.

Man, this room was huge, and for someone frail like me, its gonna take awhile to get across….

And was that…a hole in the wall.

Pushing my legs harder, I forced myself to move at an increased pace. I could feel an eerie aura emanating from all of this. I didn't know why, but all I could think of was about moving and getting out of where I was as soon as possible.

"Come on Minato…how did the school athlete become like this?"

As I pushed myself forward, I couldn't help but think to myself, "I'm in a body of a seventeen year old boy. If years have passed since THAT time, I wonder how everyone is doing right now."

That's right, my friends, I would find them all later once I get out.

Haha…I wonder what could have happened to them all while I was gone, THOSE were possibilities I never observed. Yukari, Junpei, Fuuka, Akihiko, Mitsuru and Shinjiro senpai, Ken, Koro…

Aigis…

I couldn't help but laugh a bit. Aigis couldn't age, she would probably look the same even now, so she should be the easiest to find.

Oh…

It seemed that through my little moments of reminisce, I seemed to have reached just a few steps away from the large gaping hole.

"Alright, time to see how much this world has…"

"Changed…?"

The sight that beheld me caused me nearly to stumble back in fear. I seemed to be in a city. How I knew was because of tall buildings and several dusty road signs by the side. Heck, I even saw several apartments as well.

But if all the things had one thing similar…

They were all destroyed.

Every structure seemed to be demolished halfway or a giant gaping hole at the bottom. This was even worse than an aftermath of a tornado or tsunami.

That's not all, I noticed that it wasn't just quiet, the land was barren. Completely devoid of life and human activity.

"What age have I come too?" I stared in wide eyed horror, "what happened while I was gone?"

"Agh…"

The sound of a person struggling made my head turn left. Indeed, there was an elderly man not too far away from me, just lying next to me in fact. His clothing was ripped and torn apart, and the look in his eyes were closed.

Bending down, I shook him, "Hey, are you alright? Who did this to you?"

"Run…young man…they're coming soon. They can smell you."

Smell me? What in the world was he talking about?

"Old man look, let me help you up! I'll get you to a hospital."

*ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR*

…!

What was that?

*ROAAAAARR*

Whatever the roar was, it was definitely getting closer. Should I help the old guy? I can't just…

"BOY, MOVE!"

Using whatever strength he had left, the old man shoved me to the side. As weak as I was, I stumbled and rolled away.

*ROAAAAAR*

As the roar reached an unbearable volume, I saw a shadow being cast over the old man. What happened next, I couldn't fathom. One moment I felt a mini quake as something landed in front of the old man, next I heard the old man screaming…

And the sounds of bones snapping and cracking.

"Wha…what the hell?"

I scrambled back as the figure stood straighter on all fours and turned and looked at me.

"What is this…!"

It was a light brown…gorilla so to speak. Its face was slightly redder and a huge body. Above its head, I could see something like pipes attached down to its back.

"Oh my…"

My mind screamed for me to run, run like the pathetic human I have become once again. This thing was dangerous, it would kill, it would eat me. The gorilla tilted its head as it looked at me, studying what could be done with me.

This world…what happened…

What happened to the world we worked so hard to save…?

"_Now isn't the time to think about such things. Minato, you of all people should know better."_

What I'm thinking about? To get the hell out of here and away from this!

"_Have you already forgotten this voice?"_

I don't know! What I want to know is what happened, what happened to my friends, where am I. What the hell is going on? I don't want to die!

What happened to this world…

"_Cast aside your fear, Minato…"_

How do I NOT be afraid?

"_Close…your eyes…"_

…

"_Minato."_

The voice, it was soothing, wherever it came from. I know I'm panicking so much I'm getting on-the-go amnesia. Just calm down…even in the face of death.

The gorilla roared, seemingly done waiting for me to act at all.

"_That's right, remember your strength. I'm sure you can remember some of us…"_

"Oh shut up…"

It took a stance, and then leapt at me.

"_Remember that you are mortal, remember that you will die. Remember that…"_

"I am alive, I know that already…"

As it opened its mouth to bite me, I smirked, uttering a word I haven't said in awhile.

Now…I just hope it works without…no, I KNOW it will work without it.

"Per…so…na….!"

*CRACK*

* * *

><p>HAI HAI!<p>

Well, I'm not gonna tell you what it is, you should already figure out.

I know, first chapter was rushed, I fished this from an old Microsoft word file, so this was done months ago...just the first and a bit of the second tho XD

Eh…just…*head slams and a pen appears*

Review, criticise and BAH XD


	2. Chapter 2: A Resolve, A Link

Per…So…Na…!"

*CRACK*

The once familiar words left my mouth and a blast of blue light enveloped me. This feeling…this feeling of power I haven't felt in so long. The feeling of releasing the power through every fiber of my being never felt so great…

Ecstatic…!

The gorilla backed off as a white figure started to emerge from behind me. I grinned as I gazed upon the familiar figure; white bangs, mechanical body and a harp attached to its back. The figure looked down at me with its crimson, piercing eyes.

Ah…my good old buddy…

"Orpheus…" I said as the being descended, "how long has it been? Years? Eons? Centuries would be unlikely though."

"_Hmm…save our little chit chat for later, Master Minato," _Orpheus tilted his head toward the gorilla, "_I believe more important ah…matters await your attention?"_

The gorilla looked shocked at what had just occurred. Who wouldn't, seeing a monster walk right out of a boy's head? My eyes shifted from Orpheus to the monster in front of me. Normally in times like this, **we **would usually have a set up formation…but as I mentioned, my guys aren't here anymore.

*ROAAAAR*

Emitting a loud roar, the monster jumped at us. I closed my eyes as it came to me. In fact, time seemed to slow to a crawl as the battle options and tactics whirled in my head. Reaching into my soul for the attack I wanted, I opened my mouth.

"AGI!"

I called out the familiar flame spell as Orpheus detached his harp and played a tune, blasting the monster's face with a fire ball.

"That should weaken it some…"

But damn…

Through the immense amount of smoke that was left behind, you'd think the monster took a critical hit. No, that damn Gorilla stood up straight right after its fall, ready for another round of battle.

"And we thought shadows were annoying…"

"_Master Minato!"_

A warning from Orpheus came to late as I noticed the Gorilla jump backwards. Curling itself into a large ball in mid air, it dropped to the ground and started ROLLING forward at an immense speed, like a bowling ball to its pins.

Suddenly, all that few seconds felt slowed down again as I fished for battle tactics. This time however, my luck wasn't so good

*BAM*

Too late, the gorilla rammed into me, throwing me across the area and into what I could make out as a garbage can. I could hear the battered breaths and footsteps of the monster getting closer by the seconds.

"I don't fight for some time and I'm THIS weak?" I cursed as I tried to drag myself into a standing position but no, I have far too little energy for that now. The tiredness of me being released from the seal still lingers as a crushing mental and physical handicap. Orpheus tries to ready me up, telling me to get back on my feet.

I can't…I can't move…that one attack knocked me so bad it shook me up. It's strong, and I'm weak. I'm going to die, and my journey is going to end here. Maybe I was wrong about all this, I should have just hung onto the seal and be left there, with only erebus and nyx as my only companions.

"_Fate has other plans for you, my friend. Don't accept your death so easily, now," _a familiar and boyish voice sounded in my head. This I did not recognise as Orpheus, but someone else I knew very fondly.

"Man, Ryoji, where were you when I needed some conversation time," I internally rolled my eyes as the gorilla finally stomped down in front of me.

"_In practical terms I was sealed away as well…though I am a part of you…wait a second," _the voice stopped talking, before continuing in slight embarrassment, "_woops, I'm sorry."_

I didn't even have time to roll my eyes at the snarky comment as I felt my entire being lift off the ground as the gorilla bore its eyes straight into mine.

"And you tell me this isn't it…"

"_Of course it isn't, Minato…" _Ryoji said, "_now, call my name, and let me give you the strength you need."_

The gorilla heaved away from me momentarily, finally sick and tired of evaluating its prey. Without a moments hesitation, the beast opened its mouth…

…and so did I.

"THANATO-"

*STAB*

What happened next must've been the greatest save of my life. Before I could call out to another persona, a loud, sickening stab could be seen on the side of the gorilla. Dropping me to the ground as it writhed in pain, the new comer with the razer-like saw blade rolled backwards to avoid its thrashing around.

"Woo~," my dark haired, jacket wearing saviour whistled, "the mission certainly didn't say anything about a Kongou roaming the area. Guess that leaves more grub for me I guess!"

The man twirled the weapon in his hands and before long, had made his first action against the gorilla with a 180-slash. Still weakened by his previous move the man proceeded to stab the gorilla through the stomach.

*ROAR*

"Not yet, not yet! Sakuya, open fire!"

"You got it!"

That voice…is that…?

Leaping out from behind was a young woman carrying a very…VERY long rifle. She had her raven-dark hair cut to shoulder length and wore a voluptuous tank top and a…one legged sash I would believe…

"_Now that must be a nice view from this angle here huh, Minato? Lying down and all,"_ Ryoji chuckled in my head, "_still, she does sound even just a LITTLE like her, don't you think?"_

More like almost too similar to be a coincidence.

The girl pulled the trigger and fired what seemed to be a red laser that hit the monster square in the face.

"Hmm…looks like this thing isn't putting up much of a fight," I heard the man sigh as he dodged and slashed at it again, "something must have worn it out this bad, but thank the gods or god for this blessing."

"Lindow you know that aragami mean…"

"Yeah, shit."

Giving the gorilla one final slash, it gave one last roar before in crumpled to the ground, dead and unmoving.

Wow…that was…epic…

As the scene of battle was still fresh within my mind, I felt my vision go blurry. I felt my body lose its energy as my hands slumped to my sides…

"Whoa…HEY SAKUYA!" I heard the man call to his companion, "SAKUYA! I found somebody! I think it's a survivor!"

"What? Are you serious! Let me take a look!"

That was the last I heard before my vision faded to black and my body went limp.

"_You see, Minato? There is still something left for you…"_

* * *

><p><strong>Time lapse: ?<strong>

…

*beep, beep*

Where am I…?

*beep, beep*

What am I doing, and what on Earth was that beeping sound? Why does my line of vision look so…white?

*beep…*

"Oh, you're awake!"

That voice again…could…could that be…

"Yu…kari?" I called out hopefully at the familiar name, praying in my heart that one of my closest friends was there for me.

"Yukari, who's that? I think you may have gotten the wrong person here."

What the…?

I blinked my eyes once, twice before rolling my head over to the side. Oh…it was that girl just now who saved me with the other guy. Noticing that I finally met her gaze, she sighed in relief, "Whew…I'm glad you're awake now. You've been out for quite awhile now there, a good week I must say!"

…

This seems…like an oddly familiar scene…

I looked around me, I seemed to be in some sort of hospital or sick bay, but I best to double confirm.

"I'm not dead or anything right?"

"Why silly you," the girl chuckled, "of course you're not dead! By the way, it must be hard for you to address me huh?"

"My name is Sakuya, Sakuya Tachibana."

Sakuya huh…? Oh well, for formalities sake I may as well introduce myself.

"My name's Minato Arisato," I stretched out my hand and shook hers, "nice to meet…ow!"

"Careful…" she spoke in a quieter tone, "some of your wounds from the aragami that attacked you still linger, and you wouldn't want to hurt yourself, now."

Damn right I don't want to, I just want to-wait, what did she just say. Ara-what?

"Aragami? You know those…" she scrunched her eyebrows at me before grabbing me by the shoulders, "hey, are serious when you tell me you have no idea what aragami are?"

I gave her my best answer, I shook my head. She leaned away from me slowly and bit her finger, as if in deep thought about something.

"Um…how old are you?"

…

Oh shoot, that was a question that totally threw me off guard there. Let's see um…I'm not even sure what year this is right now…and if I count graduation day…

"Eighteen."

…

You could almost hear a pin drop as I spoke my age. What…I know eighteen is the legal age to do all things but…don't judge me by…

"Impossible, and you know NOTHING of the aragami? Nothing at all?"

"Nope."

I could see her eyes widen as she started to mumble slightly to herself something about possible amnesia and memory loss. I could do nothing more than blink at her…

"Well, then you should at least know some basic stuff…" she narrowed her eyes down at me, "alright…what year is it…?"

…

Open mouth…give answer…

"I…have no idea…"

I think something just broke itself ninety nine times over as Sakuya's jaw dropped, "Young man, I think you need a rest. You could have a severe case of memory loss, or maybe…"

Aw damn it…now she's just going to bug me for more questions. I need answers, I have questions as well. What happened to this world, what time am I in? Which year?

"Look…" I sighed, "I must be going loco or something, but I really can't think straight now Sakuya. Just tell me…everything that's going on now."

"Are you…oh…must be hard for you. Maybe it was some traumatic experience in the past that…"

…

"Sakuya…"

"Okay! I'm sorry!" she quickly waved her hands in front of her, "Well…where to start…ah the year I guess…"

"The year is…2071."

I nearly crapped in my pants as she said it…2071. That means…my friends…they would be…around the age of Bunkichi and Mitsuko-san?

No…but…

"What were those monsters?"

"These are what we call…aragami," Sakuya's voice became solemn and dark, "no one knows how they came about, but they did. A few years back, they first appeared here and started tearing up the area. It was just Japan at first, but then it became a worldwide epidemic. They see and devour whatever comes their way. Sometimes, they even grow to become what they eat."

"Only those compatible with a certain 'BIAS factor' have the ability to fight these aragami. They are called Gods Eaters. Candidates would have to…"

"Sakuya…"

The older girl looked down at my face, now dark, with despair painted all over my once stoic face. Eat? Devour? Does that mean that my friends had all been killed? What had become of port island? Could that mean that-

"Port Island…" I mumbled to myself before suddenly grabbing Sakuya's shoulders.

"Wha…are you okay…Minato?"

"Port Island! Tatsumi Port Island! Sakuya! In all these aragami nonsense whatever, do you know of a place called Tatsumi Port Island? You know, the one where Gekkoukan is…"

…

The silence only made me sink back into his bed as I let go of Sakuya. Was it true, that my home was gone?

"Minato, I think…you seriously have a bad case of amnesia…" she said, "Some kids in Japan these days…don't even know Tatsumi Port Island existed…"

I nearly blanched

The reactions that followed Sakuya's statement were…not even shocked and downfallen could describe what I felt at that moment. My hands gripped the sheets of the hospital bed…

"I'm sorry..."

Knuckles turning white as my hands trembled while I gripped the sheets of the bed.

"It's like this for everyone…I'm sorry I can't do anything more to help…"

Everyone…

Everyone…is like this?

Is this…the state of my world now…? A world where everyone's loved ones have all been gone, died and eaten by freak MONSTERS!

"Argh…"

Sakuya turned and looked at the me, a small whimper escaping my lips

"Why…" his attempted sentence came out in deformed words, "I work…so hard…we…and then now…all…gone…no…no, no, NO!"

"Minato! Please, calm down!"

"No I…why is it like this? It can't be…it can't be!"

_I chooseth this fate of my own free will…_

Fate…

Then…is it my fate to fail…to DIE AS WELL?

"Agh…"

A small, lone tear dripped down from my one noticeable eye, "Yukari…Junpei…Fuuka…senpai…Aigis…Koro…Ken…Shinji… Aigis…"

Soon, more tears began to flow, dripping down m ychin line. It was true, it was all true! Everyone, everything! All gone!

"Shit..."

Unable to take it in anymore, I let out a cry. A cry filled with sorrow, anger and rage as tears continuously streamed down my face. The lives I fought for, the people I fought with, they were all now mere fragments of my memory,etched forever, but forever lost.

"Why…" I manged through sniffs, "Just...WHY!"

*grab*

Through the midst of mytears, Sakuya had seemingly inched her chair closer to me and wrapped her arms around my understood all too well the pain of losing someone dear to her, I could feel it. She didn't have to say much words, I could feel it from her.

"There, there," she patted my crying self on my back.

"DAMN IT, AAAAAAGHHHH!"

"That's it…just cry it out…"

Thoughts ran through my mind, the mind of Minato Arisato. This world was almost dead, the people here weren't that many either. My friends were dead, everything else would soon be too.

_No…_

My breathing started to calm down and my cries got softer, to little whimpers, and then to soft sniffles of a runny nose.

"You better now?" Sakuya asked, still holding onto me

_If fate's plan was to screw me over_

"Yeah…even if slightly, I am."

_Then…_

I sat back up, taking Sakuya's hands of me, "I know I shouldn't dwell on it too much, sorry for burdening you."

_I will change fate..._

"It takes time," she smiled at him, brushing away drops of tears,"I dare say you're more hardy then some of the guys I've met."

"Hmm…" I nodded my head, brushing her hand away, "You know, this ain't the first time stuff like this happened, waking up from unconsciousness and a girl right beside me, its not new at all you know?"

"Well somebody's a lady killer, like a certain someone I know," she giggled, "but hey. If you need any help, just call big sis to help you alright? I'll try to be there if I can."

"I'll remember that, Sakuya."

_I will take up the sword of humanity and fight against all odds. Even if gods would watch me writhe, and all would defy, I would fight till the end._

_But for now… _

*SMASH*

This again…I thought to himself as time suddenly slowed to a halt. Soon, a tarot card descended from seemingly nowhere and flipped itself around. The picture engraved on it was that of one man and a woman, separated by a tree with a roman numeral six on it.

_Thou art I, for I am thou. Thou shalt be blest with the powers of the lovers arcana._

"I knew it…" I shook his head as time slowly regained itself, "social link…"

"Hmm, Minato?" Sakuya tilted her head and looked at me, "is something the matter?"

"Eh no, no. I was just spacing out for a moment there."

Sakuya smiled a little at up, she started walking towards the door, "Well, I better get going in case one of my superiors need my help or anything, plus that Lindow isn't someone who can always be counted on…"

"Alright…"

Indeed, this scene was too familiar for the me, but what I had in mind was definitely something I had to tell the older girl.

"Wait, Sakuya!" I called right before she left the door.

I had a will.

"Hmm? What is it?"

I had a resolve.

"I need to ask you something important. Well, quite a few things."

I had a goal.

"Sure…if it's a few minutes I guess I can spare it."

Opening my mouth, I let out words that would forever change my life".

"Tell me more about these…Gods Eaters..."


	3. Chapter 3: New Type

UP THE CHAPTER

Chapter 3: New Type

**A week later…**

Right…

I…think I'm lost.

I unrolled a map of the Branch, more of like the interior of it. It was one of those spare copies that Sakuya had, so she gave it to me. It was…pretty detailed on how it was drawn. Corridors with lines all over with several openings I would ASSUME as doors…

Huh.

Actually, detailed wouldn't really suit the current situation right now. If anything, I for one, can honestly say.

"This den," my hand palmed against my forehead, "is just too damn big for me to understand any of these directions."

Oh right, you all might probably wonder what I'm doing right now.

You see, after giving it some thought, and pondering over what Igor had told me about a new journey, this whole Gods Eater thing finally made sense. Sure, I may have had Sakuya go through it a few times with me, but one thing was for sure.

My mind was fixed on becoming one of them as well. On becoming a gods eater.

There would be a very long story on how the next few days went after my decision to join as a gods eater went. To cut it short, it involved Sakuya asking me dozens of times if I was sure this was the decision I wanted, because there would be no going back.

I answered simply, "It's not the first time I made a choice like that."

I'm pretty sure that what I've been through was much worse than any of them could comprehend.

The next few days following my confirmation were a series of aptitude tests. Apparently, these weapons that they use, Jinki (or god arc), could only be used if I was a match for a certain type. Sakuya had told me the tests usually weren't long and lasted only some hours or so.

I couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or was just plain lying.

Like I said, it was a span of a few days, I went through tests. Blood tests, physical tests, body screenings and such.

I even thought that one time, they injected something into me while I was lying on the bed during body screening.

Some of the doctors even stared at my test results and started to give me looks. Not those kind of awkward stares, but the kind which said, 'this guy isn't like most people.' Well, if you count shooting yourself in the head to summon monsters not like most people, I guess it accounts for something?

"Man, awkward moments…" I sighed as I tugged on my new outfit.

Oh yeah…I sort of had to get a new change of clothes as well.

"Right…" I mumbled to myself as I finally managed to figure out my way to the god arc test area, "that girl yesterday…"

**Yesterday**

After running through a series of physical tests and some body scans, I managed to get out of the hospital area and was told to rest for the day.

I stepped out of the temporary room they assigned me on the rookie's floor. It wasn't as luxurious as the one's back at the Iwatodai dorm, but then again, it was a Kirijo operated building. Boy, if Mitsuru-senpai saw the room I was living in now, she would probably flip

"_Arisato…how is it…I cannot even fathom how you would live inside a room like that."_

Despite the fact that I still missed everyone, I couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of it. So far, the only person I really had a good conversation with was Sakuya, and some old dude named Gen Momota, who told me about all sorts of stuff before the Aragami invasion.

"_Ya know, way before the aragami came and started screwing us over, kids only had to join the army at the age of…"_

Damn, if only he knew which timeline I came from.

Slipping on my sneakers and my plugging in my mp3 player, I jabbed the "down" button on the lift and waited for its arrival.

*CRANK*

…

*SHRRRK*

…

After all these days, I swear this lift doesn't have much safety. If I had to tell someone the truth, I'm still actually pretty scared about entering the lift.

*ding*

Alright Minato, you've fought shadows, shot yourself in the head to summon supernatural beings, and seemingly dated multiple girls at once without getting found out.

No pressure.

Taking a deeper breath, I step into the lift and select 'lobby'. As if in response, the lift doors shook before slamming shut. Yeah, I said it, it SLAMMED shut in my face. You could feel the wind as it did.

I should so go and talk to the mechanic about these issues. I'm getting weird out by an elevator.

"I guess breakdown in technology just can't be helped, huh?"

"Breakdown in what technology?"

Wow, I must've been blasting my music way too softly if I could hear that voice right beside me.

Shoving my hands into my pockets and turning to my right, I noticed a girl a little shorter than me by my side. She had short, grey hair that didn't reach past her neckline and goggles at the top of her head. If you look closely at her face, you could see blackish oil stains on it. From that tool belt and giant gloves, you could probably tell she was an engineer of some kind. Engineer…? She couldn't have been much older than me. Maybe around eighteen as well if I do say so myself.

Oh wait…then she must have been the one to design this lift. Explains the mechanical work if she was some rookie engineer then.

"Uh, nothing," I quickly waved my hands in front of me, "just mumbling something unimportant."

"Uh huh…?" she raised a curious brow, before taking a good, long look at me, "blue hair, rich looking school uniform, very blank face…"

Hey, hey. What's with all the description of facial features?

"Oh, I know you!" she palmed her fist, "you must be that survivor Sakuya and Lindow found! Mina…Minato was it?

"Survivor…?" I scratched my cheek at the remark, "Ah-ha…I guess you could say that again, Miss…?"

"Oh you don't have to! I'm around your age as well?"

She stuck out her hand and flashed me a winning grin, "Licca, Licca Kusonoki. I'm the tech and engineer at the far east branch. Not much of us though, but let me know if you need anything, I'll try my best to help you out!"

Seems friendly.

"You probably already know this but, Minato Arisato, nice to meet you as well."

A little smile forming on my lips, the two of us stepped forward and shook hands…

…and she immediately drew back afterwards?

"Wow…" she seemed a little…turned away by me, "no offense to you, Minato, but did you shower at all these past few days?"

I showered twice everyday, thank you very much…

"Huh…did Sakuya give you any spare clothes for you to change into? Or were these the ones you wore since you got here?"

And I also…huh?

Uh…

I could do nothing but palm my face in embarrassment at the oh-so true remark, "Gosh, how did I not notice that for the past days…?"

"No wonder something smelled fishy when I came into the lift, and I was so sure it wasn't my iced curry drink as well."

Excuse me, iced curry?

Before I could say anything else, the lift doors shook and opened up to the lobby. Grabbing my hand, Licca pointed down the hallway, "Come on, I know a place to get you some clean and better outfits!"

Unlike most of you guys, I like my uniform-WHOA!

Without warning, Licca started dragging me down the hallway of the lobby to a huge set of double at the end of it. Tapping a few buttons on a little console, the door opened up to a large hallway.

"Um…where are you taking me, Licca?"

"As I said, to get you some new clothes because you stink," she tugged me inside, "oh yeah, this is the jinki storage area by the way. I heard they're running you through all the aptitude tests and such. Guess you're gonna be our latest recruit huh? Looks like I'll be seeing you a lot in the coming days."

"And that's ALL THE MORE reason for you to get new clothes! Come on and stop acting like you're half dead."

I suddenly had the urge to run back to my room, curl up and sleep.

As she pulled me down another corridor, I narrowly caught a glimpse of dozens of giant swords and guns in the storage area. Some of the blades even looked like razors and chainsaws…

If that's what I'm going to be using for combat, I don't think my untrained arm can take it.

After EVEN MORE corridors (gosh I swear this place is a freaking maze), we stood outside a small room which was labelled "Outfitters 101".

"Well, since I'm guessing you don't have any fenrir credits to get anything, I'll make an exception here," she winked and waved her finger at me, "I'm going to let you take whatever you want for free. Oh, but only the one's under the 'older design' section though."

"Licca, I think the fact that I'm getting free clothes is good enough."

Though you still didn't have to tell me that I stank. Still, I wonder why there wasn't a social link.

**The Present**

"It isn't much though…" I mumbled as I fiddled with the sides of the black jacket that covered a maroon undershirt with an odd symbol of a wolf on it, my other hand finishing the profile form, "but they said it was injected with bias factor, and considering that I should be the next up for the jinki compatibility test…"

Right, jinki compatibility test.

"_It seems you're going to turn out to be no ordinary gods eater, young man. You have a bright future ahead of you!"_

Bright future, in this insane world? As if stuff like that is going to happen.

No ordinary gods eater, I wonder what that scientist meant by that.

"_You seem, nervous, master Minato."_

"Orpheus, great timing as usual," I rolled my eyes, "where were you and Ryoji?"

"_You seemed to be spending a great deal of time with Sakuya, so I thought our company was not needed at the moment."_

"You idiot, you're my best…friend, if I can call personae that."

"_I'm sure you do realise that you, by calling me an idiot, have also just insulted yourself, right?"_

…

Damn his…my internal mind games.

I wonder when my turn is next, that one other person inside there is taking way too long.

"Number three, you're up!"

"Oh, my call! I'll talk to you later."

"_I am always here when you need me, master Minato," _Orpheus nodded before vanishing. Alright, I thought and kicked myself of the chair in the waiting room, leaving only dust behind and the profile sheet previously handed to me into my pocket.

*Door is open, you may proceed*

The door opened, revealing a very large, empty and bright test room. Squinting my eyes slightly, I walked into the middle of the room. Above the room was a small glass panel, where I suppose several people were watching me.

"Sorry to keep you waiting so long," a low, powerful voice spoke, "welcome to mankind's last Fortress, the Fenrir."

Last fortress huh? Guess nowhere else in this crazy, new aged world is safe anymore.

"We will now test your compatibility for the anti-aragami punitive force," the voice continued, "the gods eaters. Oh, do try to stay calm, you may get better results that way."

What are you going to do, drill a hole through my hand?

"If you think you're ready, walk up to the large machine in the middle and place your hand on the sword you see on it."

Not really to my surprise, I noticed one of those giant sword things I saw in the jinki storage areas that day, which I assumed to be the god arcs.

I blinked once, silently praying that nothing was wrong with the machine. Then taking a deep breath, I walked up and grabbed the sword.

"Alright, we will now begin the test. As I said, please, relax yourself as much as possible."

I'm seriously suspecting that this thing may cut my arm of in one fell swoop, but I'll just wait and see.

…

*CREAK*

That, did not sound good-

*BAM*

Suddenly, the upper layer of the machine roared to life, and slammed itself down on my hand. It hurt, but I resisted the urge to scream out loud. As he said, I had to stay calm.

Although I was unaware of what was going on inside the machine, I could feel something around my right hand. I felt it press against my skin and slowly, started to dig into my skin.

Its okay, I forced myself not to scream and yell out despite the excruciating pain, I've been hit by Elizabeth's attacks, executed by senpai and mauled by shadows, I can live this! It's just mild pain, not much pressure on my body-

"AGH!" I couldn't supress the urge anymore and let out a yelp, just in time for the machine to lift itself of my arm as well. Other than the pain, I noticed that there was a gigantic red bangle around my arm. Curious about it all, I moved my hand…

…and lifted the giant blade up.

"Wow…" I whistled as I gave a small swing. This thing…is really light! It's even lighter than the short sword I used! I also noticed a black vine, which extended itself from the jinki and into my bangle.

Creepy.

"Congratulations," I heard light clapping through the glass panel, "you are now one of the first few 'new type' gods eaters. Please wait in the room on the right until further instruction is given. If you need any medical assistance or start feeling unwell, just call us."

And how may I do that…?

Placing the humungous sword back down, I made my way towards the small little room which contained not more than a sofa and a small table. Slumping back down, I sighed and rubbed my sore right arm. I guess I DID feel somewhat tired, but sick? I didn't really think so.

But crap, this sofa is HARD!

"Hey, you alright?"

"What's up, new guy?"

Two voices caused me to snap my neck sideways. Wow, how did I NOT notice anybody inside this place? I must seriously be out of it. The second voice was of a boy, who wore a yellow beanie that covered his reddish-brown hair and matching sweatshirt. His orange Bermuda seemed a little too big for him though. The scarf around his neck…honestly didn't match the weather.

The other was of a girl, maybe slightly older than him. She had piercing, brown eyes which seem to match that little smile of her and her long, silver hair cascaded down to her hips. She wore a brown, sleeveless top and a pair of short pants.

Wow…I wonder if she ever felt…tight in that thing.

"Oh, so you're not totally worn out huh?" she giggled as she noticed my slumped position, "don't worry, Kota here looked pretty drained after the test."

"And he didn't give me any gum."

"Whoa, whoa! I said I ran out, didn't I?"

The girl rolled her eyes and pouted, "Yeah right. You so owe me!"

"You guys sure are lively," I couldn't help but crack a smile at the duo. Before either of us could converse more, a voice snapped us back to reality.

"Stand up!" a much older woman commanded, causing all of us to shoot up immediately. She was dressed in white top down with slightly curled raven coloured hair. She held a clipboard in one hand and stared us down.

The three of us were…downright scared.

"My name is Tsubaki Amamiya, and I'll be your advisor," she introduced, "If you don't want to die due to anything stupid, you would answer everything I say with a yes, understand?"

"UNDERSTAND?"

"YES, MA'AM!" we all replied at once. Dammit, she's an ice queen!

"Good job, so you," she pointed to me, "report to doctor Paylor Sakaki's lab at 1500 hours. You two, find him before that time. That is all for now, DISMISSED!"

After one last three man salute, she walked off and we made our way to the lobby.

"Man…don't you think she was scary?" the girl shivered, "its like her glare could kill us all!"

"I know, right!" the boy exclaimed, "still, she is pretty damn hot."

"Really, Kota, is that all you think off?"

"I mean, look at those hips! And that cup size, oh I swear its…"

"And you feel comfortable saying all of this in front of a girl? Wow, you not afraid of getting slapped?"

"Are you going to slap me?"

"True…guess not."

"…"

That last piece of silence was from me. I didn't know if any of them had realised, but I don't even know their DAMN NAMES.

…

"Oops, sorry, new guy," the boy rubbed his head, "we kinda forgot about you."

Its okay Minato…don't get angry at the overly cheerful duo for not noticing you…

"Don't worry, its fine," I forced a smile and stretched out my hand, "guess I'll start with my name and class then."

"Minato, Minato Arisato, new type, nice to meet you."

The boy seemed generally surprised at this, "Oh! You're a new type just like her! Guess that means you're the second one."

Ah…seems new types are a new thing…

"Name's Kota Fujiki! Let's get along, Minato! Though…I'm NOT a new type, haha!"

"Heh, I'm sure we will, Kota."

*SMASH*

Well…here we go.

_Thou art I, for I art thou. Thou hast established a new bond. Thou shalt be blest when using personas of the magician arcana._

Magician huh…well, in ways, he DOES resemble Junpei…

"Go on then," Kota nudged the girl as time started moving again, "introduce yourself!"

"Ah right! I almost forgot!"

Giving me a wide, toothy grin, the girl extended out one of her slender arms towards me, "It's nice to meet you, Minato. I'm Miki Sanada, first new type. I hope we can be buddies!"

!

What?

"Good to meet you as well, Miki."

Sanada…Miki….!

*SMASH*

…

Huh?

Two in a row, are you kidding me?

_Thou art I, for I art thou. Thou hast established a new bond. Thou shalt be blest when using personas of the fool arcana._

The fool…that means…

"I see…"

"Uh…Minato? You're gripping my hand too hard…"

"Eh?" I blinked before noticing the tight grip I had on her, "oh, sorry, sorry!"

Hmm, I guess…in a sense…one of us managed to stay alive in an indirect way, huh?

**Elsewhere**

A blonde man sat in his office, tapping his fingers against his table, expecting somebody to arrive soon.

*knock*

"Director?"

"Ah…Tsubaki," the man lit up even if slightly at the voice, "do come in."

The woman known as Tsubaki entered into the room, placing a two acknowledgement forms onto the his table, "You should really read the application forms these days. Some of them are really interesting."

"Oh?" interest exhibited from the blonde man as he ran through the two latest applicants.

Profile: Minato Arisato

Age: 18

Date of birth: 5th of March

Likes: Music

Dislikes: May Vary

Current Living Family: None

Deceased family members: All

Reasons for joining: To find my new Answer.

Profile: Miki Sanada

Age: 16

Date of Birth: 7/10/2055

Likes: Friends and stuff

Dislikes: Aragami

Current living family: Uncle

Deceased: All except uncle

Reasons for Joining: To be stronger, to protect everyone.

* * *

><p>Right, I've been busy, sorry<p>

STIIIIIIIIIIIL

R&R before I add Ash into the story and make him kill you XD


	4. Chapter 4: Check Ups and Jacks

Yada, yada!

Chapter 4: Check Ups and Jacks

"Now, where to go?"

"Kota…the elevator was that way, not down to the god arc storage area."

"I know, I KNOW! It's just that, the elevator is like damn scary. It made all that creaky noises and stuff when I entered it just now! You sure it's not gonna break down any moment?"

I feel his pain, and by the look on her face, so did Miki.

You see, Kota was having kind of uh…the dilemma of his life: to take the elevator or not. I could have played just the emo kid and ignored him, but as I said, I understand his pain.

"From what I know," Miki spoke, "there are a bunch of staircases that wind around the den. But they're really easy to get lost in unless you have a map. Doesn't everyone get one when they first arrive here?"

"They do?"

Well, it's a start. At least she's not going to wrangle him like Yukari wrangles Junpei, that would be bad.

After some minutes of our very 'thorough' convincing, Kota manned up and got into the elevator.

"Don't you find it cute when he gets all flustered like that," Miki places her hand over her mouth, stifling a giggle, "he's like a cute little bro that you wanna wrap your arms around and hug."

"Re-really now? Haha-"

"Yeah, hahaha!"

…

…

Damn, this silence is awkward as hell…

"_You'd think that, Master Minato, with all the conversing you had before, this should be what humans call 'a snap' for you. However, it seems some form of social retardation is still eminent in this conversation. I'd say, you still have ways to go, Master Minato."_

The hell, Orpheus, what in the world are you telling me here? I'm still human, and I still get somewhat nervous around strangers. Geez…

"_Sure, and you had no problem pimping on the women in your life. Sure."_

I seriously wonder whether he hung around Trismegistus too long back in the day, I'm starting to want to strangle this guy.

"Minato?" Miki tilted her head at me, "are you alright? You look really stressed out about something. Is the after effects of the compatibility test taking its toll on you already?"

"No, no!" I waved my hand dismissively, still my lips still in a slight frown from Orpheus' light insult, "it's nothing, a little headache is all. I'm perfectly fine."

"Okay, if you say so. If you need to take a nap after the medical check up, just go. It's better than pushing yourself over the limit anyway."

Wow…unlike a certain Sanada that I knew…she actually knew when to STOP. I just hope she didn't eat protein bars as well. Really, that stuff never did substitute as a proper meal for him.

"Well, now that we probably won't see Kota for awhile, I should take sometime to explore the den," she did a light stretch and stood up, "You wanna come with me?"

I shook my head, prompting a nod from her and a little 'see you later' wave. Seeing as that she had gone down the lobby into some mysterious flight of staircase I never knew existed, I looked around at the rather quiet lobby.

Maybe save for Hibari and the guy selling stuff.

"_Maybe going early for the medical checkup would be a good idea, Master Minato. You could get more things done for the day. Maybe form a few links more or so."_

Maybe, and that was pretty quick you know? Going from the 'insult your master' phase to a 'I actually will start to care about you now' phase. Very sly, Orpheus, very sly. Remember kids, having a supernatural power inside your head talking to you is not all fun and games, not all fun and games I say.

"_I learn only from the best. Plus I am a part of your subconscious, I am bound to know the way you conduct things."_

And THIS, proves my point exactly. I just wish Orpheus had some flesh right now, I would so choke him…but then again, he IS a part of me. That in this case, would kind of like be strangling myself. Suicide seems like it isn't this age's in-thing anyway, so I'll keep my sanity.

"Well then, guess I'll go find this Sakaki character now."

Taking a deep breath, I walked up to the elevator and hit the 'up' button. Much to my relief, the door opened, saving me the anticipation of waiting for the creaky lift to come down. If anything, I'm just glad that there wasn't reports of people dying inside this lift.

I clipped on my headphones, seeing as no one else was inside. I click started my mp3, cycling through what soundtracks I had from 2009. I wondered, whether anyone ever heard of any of these songs would be classics by now.

"And I wonder how the guys here live without much good music," I mused out loud as I clicked on the track 'mass destruction'. I'm really glad I had senpai modify this mp3 to be able to work in the dark hour, or I don't know how I would have been able to survive half the time I was in Tartarus.

***Light Flashback***

"_Mitsuru-senpai, can I ask a favour?"_

"_What is it Arisato? If you need more money to fund the new weapons, then-"_

"_No senpai, not the weapons. I kind of got those with 'Tartarus yen' already."_

"_Oh? Then what would you have me do for you?"_

"_Is it possible to…I don't know, tune my mp3 player such that it works in the dark hour?"_

"…"

"_Please?"_

"_Could…you repeat that…?"_

***Flashback end***

Abusing her power it may have been, but with the whole 'music helps me focus more on the task at hand' speech, senpai gave in pretty fast.

Mitsuru-senpai…

*ding*

I stepped out as the doors opened before me. Albeit reluctant, I took my earphones off and headed straight for the door labelled "Sakaki's Research Laboratory."

Guess I should knock first….

*tok tok*

"Excuse me…"

Turning the handle, I pushed open the door and found myself facing two men: one with frazzled hair in a coat wearing glasses, sitting behind some kind of master computer. Standing beside him was a blonde man, his posture straight as he looked at me with narrow eyes.

"Hmm…you got here seven hundred and twenty seconds earlier than I expected, good to see you, new type!" the man behind the computers looked up from his insane typing, "I'm Paylor Sakaki, good to meet you, Minato. We'll be seeing each other a lot more from now."

"Good to meet you sir."

I'll have my own little reservations here. After that skirmish with Ikutsuki, I really need to be careful about guys like that, because a backstabbing adult is really the last thing I need to make this journey more difficult for me.

"But…I'm pretty busy with something now," Doc Sakaki pushed his glasses up and typed away, "Johannes, could you settle whatever you need to do first? I'll get back to the rookie as soon as I'm done…"

The blonde man let out an annoyed groan, obviously indicating that this wasn't the first time it was happening, "Doctor, I suggest that you get your priorities straight, business and private matters are two very different things."

…

*tap tap tap*

Yeah, so wasn't listening.

"Thank you for taking part in our aptitude test," the blonde man shook his head before turning to me, "I'm Johannes Von Schicksal. I'm in charge of the Fenrir Branch for this region. Like Paylor, I myself used to be…"

"…a former techie as well, you know?" Doc Sakaki chimed in, "The new-types medical results still interest you to no end, aren't I right?"

"I retired as a techie because we had you, Paylor."

"Did you ever REALLY retire though?"

Whoa, serious, very hard to notice tension going on between two adults here. Rule of thumb: shut up and watch. Shaking his head once more, Johannes turned his head to me, "Now though, is where the real fun starts."

Fun…?

"Let me explain the Fenrir Corporation's objectives once more. Your direct duties are very simple," Johannes turned slightly more serious, "they are to keep the Aragami in this region at bay, and to gather materials which are then converted into resources needed to maintain this advanced base, as well as complete the impending "Aegis Project."

"Sir, if I may ask, what's this Aeg-"

"Ugh…, look at ALL THESE numbers!" Sakaki exclaimed from behind the computer. Breathing in for a second, Johannes continued on.

"The Aegis Project is, simply put, a plan to create a utopia impregnable against Aragami attacks, located far out to sea, close to the former Sea of Japan trench."

"Ah…" an intrigued sound came from Sakaki once again. I could see the director was starting to lose his cool as well. In any case, I tried to keep myself from smirking.

"Once the project is complete, humankind will be able to avoid extinction, at least for a while."

Whoa…wait, what? If that's the case…if mankind is going to be some huge-butt island to save everyone from the aragami…what's the purpose of my journey then? Shouldn't Igor have predicted an outcome like this, or something?

"Amazing! So this is what a New-Type is like!"

Sakaki…you might wanna stop before…

"Paylor," Johannes said, not bothering to hide his irritation any longer, "you're interrupting my lecture."

"Oh, I'm sorry! I was taken aback by these stats! Really, you should take a good look at these two, its pretty different!"

Did he mean about me and Miki being "new types" or whatever? I really wonder what the big deal was about these new types…

"At any rate, Arisato," Johannes turned to me, "I have some documents to go over, so Paylor will take over from here. He will perform a simple medical checkup on you so please, try and relax yourself. Last but not least…"

"I officially welcome you to the Fenrir Far East Branch, Minato Arisato. May you be one of those that change the fate of this world. And Paylor, send me the data once it's finished."

Been there, done that and died once.

"Alright then Minato, we're good to go now!" Paylor typed his last letter and spun his chair so that he faced me, "go lie down on that bed over there. Don't worry, you'll just get drowsy but nothing major. When you wake up, you'll be in your own private room, convenient eh? It will last probably around 10800 seconds."

Firstly, I don't care for exact numbers. Second, that isn't exactly private anymore in case you didn't notice…

"Now go on! I'm seeing the next one right after you."

Right, Miki…

Going over to the little bed at the side, I closed my eyes. Surprisingly, I felt the sleeping effects really quick.

"Sweet dreams, new type!"

* * *

><p><strong>Sometime later…<strong>

Uh…? Damn, that sleeping effect really got me good. The ground below me feels so…soft and fluffy…

Fluffy?

Still in a small little daze, I slowly blinked my eyes open, only to find myself stare up at a brightly lit ceiling. Tilting my head left, I took in a full view of my private room: a sink, a small little fridge, a table and sofa and this big, computer like thing which I assumed was one of those 'terminals.' Huh, not bad at all…

Oh, was that a coffee machine?

Getting myself of the bed, I immediately headed for the coffee machine. I'll be honest with you guys, I've never really liked to drink coffee, was much more of a tea person. Coffee's just so…bitter and dark. Never really liked the taste hanging in my mouth.

"Guess I'll just have to make do…" I jammed my finger against the button, causing rather unsightly black liquid to come out.

"_You never had such luxury items back in the dorm, did you?"_

"Odd, really. You'd think senpai could afford a dorm, an entire country and she forgot the tea and coffee machine. No wonder Ken had to by his own coffee bags," I placed my cup down on the bench before heading over to the terminal.

"Huh, guess I could use my innocent sin ID and password…" I quickly hit a few keys into the number slots, "now for mail. I'm guessing these sorts of places should have a welcome mail or something like that. Just hope the overall system isn't too complicated."

*BEEP, MAIL ACCESSED*

Cool.

There wasn't much mail to look at, just one from Tsubaki and Kota.

"Guess I'll skip Kota's, since Tsubaki's looks more…demanding to look at it…"

"_Are you sure about this, Master Minato? He took the trouble of sending it to you, and I'm pretty sure it isn't like any of that stuff Junpei send you. What do you humans call it? Po…pro…por…"_

"Don't say it, Orpheus. Please."

"_Ok…?"_

"_Oh, what's the trouble with reading it, Hee-hoo!"_

…

…

The freak was that?

I whipped around, and nearly tripped over. Standing…floating behind me was Orpheus. The fact that a persona appeared without my calling was already freaking the hell out of me that moment. The second thing that made me freak out was this…

…white, snowball thingy that was behind Orpheus.

"_I apologise, but it seems that something is latching onto my back."_

"_No there isn't, hee-ho!"_

Yeah, definitely freaked me out.

"_One…urgh…moment Master Minato," _Orpheus grabbed whatever was clinging on to his harp. When he found that he could not, he grabbed the entire harp instead, _"get…off my harp!"_

"_Aw, lemme hide just a little longer, hee-h-HOOOOOOOO!"_

With whatever strength he had, Orpheus pulled out and flung his harp down on the ground, the white figure falling down with it. Now face up, I could clearly see the figure's two-dimensional face, twisted in slight...scratch that, major discomfort. Its blue hat tumbling off slightly from where it landed.

"Hey I know you…" I got to my feet and squat down at the round, white snowman thing.

"_Hey, hey master, it's good to see you and all but ah…could you help poor Jack Frost up on his feet, hee-ho?"_

"_Master cannot touch a spirit being such as you, Jack Frost. I'll help."_

"_No!" _the little snowman started to spasm even more violently, "_but…fine…"_

I couldn't help but release a small chuckle as Orpheus picked Jack Frost of the floor. Still, I was curious how Jack Frost came back to me. I'm pretty sure it was just Orpheus at first.

"_Ah…that is simple, hee-ho," _Jack Frost cleaned the dust of his little shoes and floated right back up, "_when you formed a social link with Kota, you called upon the power of the magician arcana once again, and a magician persona will return to you."_

"_Though eh, sorry to burst your bubble right now, Master Min, but no Surt for you hee-ho! You're still kinda weak now."_

"Heh, no worries," I smiled lightly, "if anything, you must be pretty sad that your brother isn't here, huh?"

Really, Pyro and Frost could NEVER be separated. Whenever I brought Frost or Pyro to Tartarus, the other always bugged me to bring it along.

Still, looks like its gonna be a fun jaunt.

"_So, ya gonna read those mails, hee-ho?"_

…

Right, back to the main subject here…

* * *

><p>Life is driving my nuts, but here it is!<p>

And now…its time to get back to studying.

Jack Frost: Review please, hee-ho!


	5. Chapter 5: First Briefing

Chapter 5: First Briefing

Personas. I love all of them, really I do.

I liked Jack Frost a lot, really I do.

However, last night was a whole different issue all together. He was practically the reason why I couldn't sleep a damn wink.

"_Hey, hey Orpheus?"_

"_Hmm? What is it, Frost? Do you require my assistance? A song to soothe you perhaps?"_

"_Bufu-ball!"_

_*BAM*_

The remainder of it was Orpheus attempting to control his anger at Jack Frost's snow-bufu-balls, as we started to call it from then on. Eventually though, Orpheus snapped, and his strings almost did as well when he started to chase Jack Frost around with his harp.

Somehow through all of this, I had to wake up and shut them up. I even went to the extent of threatening Jack Frost that I would 'release' him from my mind did he not stop disturbing Orpheus. That, and I told Orpheus not to smack things so hard.

Just because I can see spirits, doesn't I can't hear them.

So that day when I woke up, unusually groggy and pissed, neither of the personae dared to ask me why.

"_Hee…hoo…"_

"_I deeply apologise for last night, Master Minato."_

"Hrmph…" I grunted as I made my way over to the sink, "don't remind me. Jack Frost, just because I'm happy to see you doesn't mean you can start bufu-balling Orpheus, not even when I'm asleep, and ESPECIALLY when I'm asleep."

"_But it was fun…"_

"But it was annoying my SLEEP!" I nearly snapped his toothbrush into two as I spoke, shutting the two personae up. Both knew that as strong and powerful as I always was, they never, ever once seen me as a morning person.

_In fact…_Orpheus silently mulled, _the last time Trismegistus told Junpei to prank Master Minato early in the morning…I was unwillingly called forth to…_

The spitting and rinsing of a mouth shook the master of strings out of his little trance as I finished whatever business needed to do in the washroom. I quickly made my way past the two spirit beings, seemingly ignoring them and threw on my coat, doing one final check before I headed out for the day.

"I must say, though," I commented as I looked at the outfit, "this outfit does suit me a whole lot. Heck, it isn't even too different from my school uniform I used to wear, just with a slightly different shade of colour here, and ta-da, modified Gekkoukan school uniform get….or whatever."

I was never really one to have a personalised fashion sense like maybe Yukari, but as I said, I really thought that outfit suited me some.

Taking a quick glance at the wall clock, I noted the time. Ten minutes past eight, roughly twenty minutes before meeting up with someone called 'Lindow Amamiya'. Shifting my attention to my personae that were, once again, talking rubbish near my terminal…

Ah, terminal. I think this could come in really useful, with all these social links and stuff coming back.

"_Hmm? Is there mail that you need to check, Minato?"_

"Well…maybe, seeing that it'd be rude to skip the mail Kota took his time to send," I rubbed my head sheepishly, moving the cursor to the 'create new document' option, "but not the main point. Social links are back to haunt my life again. Not to mention with you, Jack, Ryoji and probably more personae would randomly pop up, I really need to keep all of that jazz in track."

It actually had felt rather…at ease, as the keys sank beneath my finger. You know, there WAS this one time where I actually wondered how Erebus saw the world. What did I do? I looked around (as much as possible) around the seal if there was a signal.

Unfortunately, it seemed that Erebus didn't use wi-fi, much to my chagrin anyway.

"Oh and, you two," I gazed at up my floating friends, "could you check..uh…somewhere inside my head if Ryoji's there? He never really seems to talk and considering him, that's actually quite worrying."

_Actually, he's right here, sleeping. Probably doesn't want to wake up in case you start probing for Nyx to come back or something._

Right, I totally forgot about that part.

"Well, let's head out guys," I called them over as they followed me out of the door, "and STAY, IN MY HEAD! If I see a white thing with a hat, or a white mechanical man with a harp whose face grossly resembles me, its banishment for both of you!"

_E…even me, master Minato?_

"Especially you, since you were with me the longest, I expect you to know my rules and follow them."

Now that threat should keep them from bugging me for awhile…

Now, from what I read over just now, I had to go meet Lindow, my saviour and supposed commander for my first mission in the lobby. Guess I should do just that…

* * *

><p>Lindow will do his best to arrive on time, they said. Do not worry, they had said.<p>

There was barely anybody in the lobby, save for maybe the operator girl (Hibari, was it?), the old man selling some supplies and old man Gen. Save for them, the only thing that actually kept me from falling asleep again was the music that blared in my ears.

Okay…I thought to myself, trying to calm my already irritated mind, Lindow is a human too, like the rest of us, and humans aren't perfect. If they were, I wouldn't have to go through all that great seal shit and I would be living a normal life right now…

…or I'd be dead, eaten by aragami. That would suck.

"Yooooooo! Rookie!"

Even through my extremely loud music, I overheard the familiar shout of Lindow Amamiya. Looking up, I could see the man waving energetically as he made his way down the steps.

"Ah, Lindow!" Hibari stopped him, "the director told me that if I saw you, to go meet him in the office straight after this mission."

"I see…" Lindow considered the offer for what seemed to be no longer than a second, before grinning back and walking away, "Alright then. Don't tell him you saw me."

Hah, nice one.

"You sure you won't get into any trouble for that?" I pointed out as Hibari simply shook her head and went back to her computer, as if it was normal for Lindow to do this all the time.

"Of course I will," Lindow shot me another one of his winning grins, "but who the hell does paperwork nowadays anyway? I mean, you saw that huge thingamajig inside Old Man Sakaki's lab! I'm pretty sure that ultra computer does more paperwork in a week than we do in a year!"

Lindow kept on talking and talking about how he wanted to ditch paperwork, seemingly forgetting that we were supposed to be going on a mission soon.

It was quite a nice change, actually. Most of the other gods eaters I've seen around here are usually serious and uptight, not like I could really blame them though. They were all fighting and trying to protect what was left of this world.

Of course, Lindow was probably one of the guys who tried to lighten things up by looking all happy, which undoubtedly, I really appreciated. As what Junpei had once told me 'sometimes you gotta smile more, it makes a lot of shit better.'

"Ah, you the only here?" Lindow looked around, as if there was someone else missing.

I couldn't recall anyone else that was supposed to join us, since the mail only told me that I'll have to meet Lindow down in the lobby. Maybe one of the other pro Gods Eaters would be coming to accompany me on the mission too?

For a moment, I scrunched my brows in thought. Kota? Nah, I didn't think so. Judging from what this looked like, I assumed that new and old types got different types of training, and seeing that I was the only new type here….

Oh wait! Not the ONLY one!

"Lindow, Minato! I didn't think either of you would get here so quickly!"

I turned to see a familiar head full of shining silver hair as Miki slid down the staircase railings and did a little hop towards Lindow and I, "I'm not too late, I hope?"

"Nah," I waved my hand dismissively and gestured toward Lindow, "he arrived a few seconds ago as well."

"And what's with the hairstyle?"

I could not help but notice the complete change in her hairstyle. Instead of the long and wavy hair I saw previously, she know had her hair tied up in somewhat of a half-bun with oddly pinned hairclips on the unique style that looked strangely like a roman numeral 22…

"Hey, can't have my hair flying all round me in battle can I?" Miki tapped her newly adorned-hairstyle.

"It'd look good though."

Our leader was so asking for the punch that came his way as he let out that snide comment.

"Sorry," the female gods eater sniggered, "but I'm not really into old men. Maybe if you were seven years younger…oh! But I can't do that either, Sakuya would get mad at me."

"Hey!"

The three of us gave a hearty laugh at Lindow's sudden child-like outburst. I was guessing now in a world where half of the population was probably eaten, peaceful and casual times like these weren't usually so common anymore.

While Miki and the boss chatted away, I took the time take a good look around the den. Other than the old man who sold stuff and Hibari (gosh, was she stuck to that reception permanently…?), there didn't seem to be anyone else up.

_Do Gods Eaters always go out this early? _

You're asking ME, Orpheus? I raised my eyebrows. However, the two of them might have mistook it as something else. Otherwise, Lindow wouldn't have looked back and raised his hands, "Ah! Sorry, looks like we got a little carried away. Heh, you know how us chatty ones are."

If I can stand Junpei, impossible is nothing!

"Yoo-hoo! You three over there! How's it going?"

DAMN IT STOP INTERRUPTING US-oh hey, its Sakuya!

"Doing a mighty fine job managing the rookies, aren't you Lindow?" Sakuya teased him as she brushed past, "Oh hey, Minato. Glad to see you're up and running so quickly."

"Nothing much else I can really do. No way am I just lying on my bed and snoozing of for a damn week."

I could feel something stirring in my head as I talked to her. Was lovers going to rank up again? Can't be, those things were usually on private conversations. Sides, I've yet to feel for any personas that are of the lovers yet.

I took a glance at Lindow, who immediately stole Sakuya into a conversation between the two of them. Oh well, guess S-links gotta wait. Need to let boss have some talk time with his woman.

"Yo, Minato," Miki nudged me in the ribs, "think we should just sneak and dash outta here? Usually, when young couples start talking like that, its really gonna take awhile.

"OI!" Lindow shouted in a mock serious voice, "no talking behind your superiors backs! Any form of discrepancy is warranted for you to have your behinds cut and handed to yours truly…"

"Lindow, I appreciate your enthusiasm, but missions have a time limit. I think the rookies would appreciate that you stop dawdling and get a move on."

Ouch…Hibari burned him pretty hard…

Giving one last light shove and a playful wink, Sakuya waved us off and headed back up the elevator. Finally deciding to take responsibility, Lindow turned to us and rubbed his hands together, "Come on, let's get a move on!"

"About time too…" I mumbled as we headed for the god arc storage.

* * *

><p>"Yeesh…if you look at it from here…" Miki winced as she looked over the sight, "its actually pretty creepy."<p>

I couldn't deny. From the angle in which we stood, the city looked like a typhoon had walked in and walked out a hundred times. Collapsed infrastructure, broken road signs, and absolutely zero signs of life to top of the entire mood.

Guess we were going to have to get used to scenery like that, eh?

_It's really hard to believe that this place once used to be your home country, _Orpheus sighed. I raised my eyebrows at his comment, only for him to give a near immediate reply, _I feel what you feel, Master Minato. And when you feel something unpleasant, I feel it too._

I didn't know if I should be glad about the empathy link or not.

"Alright rookies, listen up! I'm gonna give you all a briefing," Lindow tapped his god arc against the ground, "Its gonna be a simple mission of two ogretails, nothing I don't think either of you couldn't handle, but I want no one to let their guard down, clear?"

We nodded hastily, not used to has sudden change in tone.

"I got a few pieces of advice here," he raised his hand for the added effect, "The first rule, don't die. Second one if your number's out, GET out."

You'd think Miki was actually taking notes on this, the way she looked.

"Thirdly, hide in a nice spot and wait for the enemy. If its lucky enough to get in your line of attack, jump it with a surprise strike!"

Well…against such big things that would be rather useful…

Hey wait a blasted moment…

"Four rules, sir," I quickly corrected him, eliciting a giggle from the silver haired girl.

"Geh…I knew that," Lindow tried his best to wave it off as he continued, "the most important thing is to stay alive and not die. Come back in one piece from every mission."

"As great as that sounded sir," I raised my hand once more, "five rules."

"GAH?!"

That did it for Miki, evident by her nearly dropping to the ground, grasping her chest to prevent the aches of laughter to escalate. Hell, even Jack Frost was rolling around in my head laughing.

_Hee-ho! He just got FREEZE!_

…

_Hm? Well, I figured that since I'm not pyro, I'd use freeze instead of 'BURN', hee-ho! So, watcha think?_

…_._

…

"Hmm? Hey, Minato," Miki suddenly turned and asked, "is it me…or did the area suddenly just get a whole lot colder?"

_Oh great, Jack. Now even the humans can feel your cold humour. You should really learn to keep that under control._

_Hee-ho! Shut up Orphy! _

One day, one day I will dismiss the both of you from my head and have eternal peace. Igor forbid that I don't!

"Hey, Minato!" Lindow gave me a light slap on the back, "quit looking so spacey, did you even hear our plan of attack?"

"Uh…yeah…"

Damn, he said something?!

"Don't look all blur and stuff during battle," Miki doubled up with her own reminder, "Still, all the best for our first mission eh?"

"I guess so."

"Man, you could look a little more cheerful."

Giving me a playful shove, we turned our heads back to the leader, who both gave us one last stern look before looking down from the ledge.

"Alright, move out!"

* * *

><p>I'm sorry it took so long.<p>

I promise, come late November, I'll be more frequent!

Read and Review!


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